NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who has already signed into law two measures limiting transgender and LGBTQ rights approved by fellow Republicans in the legislature, says he anticipates signing several more as they reach his desk.
Among those the governor said he is likely to sign is a school bathroom bill, the “Tennessee Accommodations for All Children Act,” or House Bill 1233/Senate Bill 1367, sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Mike Bell, R-Riceville and Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville.
Nashville, state and national LGBTQ groups charge the bill is part of a “2021 Slate of Hate” of measures pushed by Republicans. Bell, who has sponsored past bills along the same theme, rejects that and says the legislation provides a solution for difficult issues faced by students, teachers, staff and parents.
The legislation opens public schools and districts to being sued if officials allow transgender students, teachers and employees to use bathrooms, locker rooms and similar facilities designated for the sex opposite of what their birth certificate shows. Schools, however, can avoid a lawsuit if they provide “reasonable accommodations” such as single-occupancy bathrooms to students and staff who object to sharing multi-use facilities.
The bill “provides equal access to every student. It’s a reasonable accommodation, it allows for accommodation for every student regardless of their gender,” Lee said following a tour of a Nashville public charter school on Tuesday. “I think that’s a smart approach to the challenge. And I’ll be signing that.”